Напольная акустика — Q-Acoustics Concept 500

The Concept 500 belongs to the Concept series of passive tower speakers made by Q Acoustics of the United Kingdom. The UK price for a pair is GBP 4,599, and the finishes are gloss black with rosewood, gloss white with light oak, and a silver version. Within the same series the company also offers the Concept 50 tower and the Concept 30 stand-mount.

Key specs that matter

Inside every cabinet are two 165 mm mid/bass drivers and one 28 mm high frequency unit, with the crossover set at 2.5 kHz. Quoted frequency response runs from 41 Hz to 30 kHz. Average impedance is 6 ohm and the minimum dips to 3.7 ohm, and the suggested amplifier output covers 25 to 200 W. Distortion between 120 Hz and 20 kHz is given as 0.2 percent. The cabinet itself measures 1150 x 400 x 350 mm, rising to 1175 x 400 x 375 mm overall, and each speaker weighs 42 kg.

Engineering and use context

The enclosure uses Dual Gelcore, a development of the earlier Gelcore idea aimed at higher frequency cabinet noise. Three layers of MDF are separated by two layers of non-setting gel held under pressure, and this adhesive turns vibration created by driver movement into heat. Inside, the bracing is mostly cross-bracing between the sidewalls, which the company calls P2P or point to point, placed chiefly near the top of the cabinet where all three drivers sit. The mid/bass units are anchored to these braces by tensioning springs and lock nuts that pull the drivers into the cabinet, so no fixings appear around the outside of each chassis. Q Acoustics used laser interferometry and Finite Element Analysis to decide how much bracing to use and where to put it. Helmholtz Pressure Equalizers, branded HPE, are fitted to even out pressure irregularities inside the box. The tweeter lives in its own hermetically sealed, decoupled enclosure, and a sprung baseplate with suspension spheres isolates the cabinet from vibration coming from the floor.

Pairing

The low impedance minimum points toward amplification that remains stable under 4 ohm rather than one specified only for 8 ohm speakers. Twin sets of rear terminals permit bi-wiring, sending the high and low frequency sections their own cable runs, or bi-amping from two separate stereo power sources.

Alternatives

The Q Acoustics Concept 50 is the second tower in the Concept family, which Q Acoustics presents as the floorstanding follow-on to its Concept 30 stand-mount.